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Search
engine optimization is now an essential part of any business’
marketing strategy. Across the board, companies can no longer
ignore its impact and value. It used to be a science restricted
to Web startups only, but now, everyone from brick and mortar
stores to Fortune 500 companies dedicate some of the payroll — if
not whole departments — to this necessary part of the business
plan.

If you’re not ready to hire someone in-house for the role,
consider outsourcing the job to an SEO agency — as long as you
don’t ignore the tasks altogether. The impact of SEO on your
bottom line can be exponential; it has the power to boost your
sales to new heights, but can also hurt your brand recognition
and credibility with potential customers if it’s not done well.
And with so many SEO and marketing companies out there — each of
them pitching abstract promises and amazing results — how do you
choose an SEO-dedicated company that won’t burn you?

Here are 5 important things to do when selecting an agency to
take on — or take over — your startup’s SEO:

Educate yourself. Every SEO salesman is
going to promise you that they can get you ranked at the top of
search engines. They’ll be spitting out fancy jargon and
complicated packages that are going to propel you to first page
in no time. Do some research of your own to know exactly what
you’ll be paying for. A great place to start is
with The Beginner’s Guide to SEO from SEOmoz.

Find out what is right for your
company. There is no cookie-cutter SEO strategy;
each company has different needs and tactics that must be
identified before engaging in this endeavor. Will you need to
use social media? How about location-based services like Yelp
or FourSquare? Should you run any pay-per-click advertising
campaigns? Find out what is best for you and your industry, and
use those preferences as a negotiation tool when looking at
packages.

Commit to a budget that’s manageable for the long
run. If done correctly and without any cheating
(a.k.a. “black hat” SEO techniques), SEO should be a slow and
steady drip in the beginning. It could take 3-6 months before
you start to see some real progress, depending on how
competitive your keywords are. Knowing your long-term budget
beforehand is essential to a new relationship with your SEO
company. It will ensure that when it seems like this new “hot
fad” is not working, you can relax, wait it out and not hurt
your operation.

Find the right fit for you. It is
important to recognize that a relationship with an SEO company
is more than a relationship between customer and client; from
your customers’ point of view, the firm you hire will
essentially be an extension of your company. Be sure you get to
know you who will be speaking for you on the Web — who will be
tweeting from the company handle, who will be responding to
comments on blogs, and who will be acting as the online voice
of your startup. More importantly, make sure that person gets
to know you and the persona you want your startup to
project.

Demand integrity and always check
up. Once you’ve agreed to a strategy and signed
on as a client, be sure to check at least once a month that
what you agreed on in the package was actually completed.
Ensure that the goals and milestones you set were hit, and take
the necessary course of action if they weren’t. Do some blind
searches on the keywords you’re optimizing to see how they have
performed since you started. Hire companies with proven track
records: do your research to see if they have used any
black-hat SEO practices in the past, which Google hit hard with
their Penguin update back in May. You have built your
company through hard work and sweat; don’t let anyone take that
away from you by cheating. The bottom line is do not let
yourself get burned!

Raul owns and operates SimpleWiFi which offers high quality, long
range wireless solutions. Raul also founded and operates UseABoat which
takes the hassle out of price hunting when comparing any kind of
activity on the water.

The Young
Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit
organization comprised of the world’s most promising young
entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently
launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship
program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow
businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and
email lessons.